CanOfCorn

I don't think Bedard was in that package....

Nor would he want to... ...or would he?

it's nitpicky...but didn't Garland just sign for $3.4 mil?

Now that the A's traded for Ginter...does anybody know what the A's could be asking for Hudson?

if they got Hudson, I would prefer a lefty 5th starter...if possible. Just to break up the rotation a little bit. I don't know if Alvarez has it anymore to be a starter.

Who do you think the Sox will give the A's for Hudson? I imagine Garland would be a part of that deal too...which would leave the 5th SP hole open again. And I'm sure KW would want to give Hudson an extension.

with the money left over, we're not going to get Clement for $10 mil/year. Perez' value is going up all the time. Who's left? Shoeney? Elo? Washburn? They aren't going to command the same kinda money and they might work out pretty well...I believe Loaiza was signed to be the fourth or fifth starter. Anderson is expendable...And I was thinking along the lines of a lower tier minor league pitcher...not BMac, tracey, Gio, Honel, etc. I still would rather have Hudson, though.

We would have a hole in the rotation, but the Yankees would surely be adding some money to help offset Vazquez' contract. That money could be used to add a nonn-tendered/lower FA 5th starter. Garland + Anderson + Minor League pitcher should do the trick...

Carlos...tough loss. Maggs...might never be what he was. Jose...Rob Deer at SS. Rowand is good as a number 2 because he makes contact. Remember Ryne Sandberg was a damn good hitter and he hit right behind Bobby Dernier and that worked out pretty well (sorry for the Cub ref., no matter what I'll always like Ryno). I'm not 100% sold on this team, either, but the more I look at it, the more balance it looks: Speed and contact at the top Power in the middle Speed and power at the bottom (with some unknowns) All signs are pointing in the right directions, Crede working on his swing, Pods going back to what won the ROY, Everett working out to stay healthy, now they just have to produce.

Great article. The only thing I see that could be wrong is the homegrown talent. Sometimes it takes awhile to find the pre-arb talent to fit into the team. For every Rowand, there are three Borchards. Sweeney may be awesome or not. The Sox, in particular, has had a boatload of AAAA pitchers. And AAA+ position players. Spending a lot on a few "superstar" players is a great idea, but you need a fantastic scouting dept. for the pre-arbs.

Hudson Buehrle Garcia Jose Garland

And I believe that the first recruit Spurrier called to lure to South Carolina...committed to North Carolina. PR only gets you so much and RJ will only put butts in the seats once every 5 days. Half on the road...so 16 times per season? Yeah, not so much. PR doesn't win championships.

This is the most telling line in the piece. Maybe the White Sox asked the beat writers to NOT write about Carlos during the season for the above reason. A beat writer that gets in bad with the team he is writing about is worthless. So, now that Carlos is gone, he can write all of the things he couldn't write when Carlos was here. Unfortunately, it seems like he is ganging up on him, when in fact, he is reporting facts.

If Arizona thinks that they can get all of those players for just Randy AND we pick up all of his salary, then they are crazy. That's the sticking point, imo. If they expect to unload the entire salary for 2005 and an extension, than what they are asking for is absolutely ridiculous and we should move on to Hudson, Burnett, Clement, Perez, etc. They either have to pony up some cash or give us a good middle IF/VERY high level prospect.

How about if the D'Backs threw in Chad Tracy? Tracy doesn't have enough power for a corner IF. They could probably turn him into a 2B. Or maybe Casey Daigle so Jennie Finch can come to the games?

what he said.

I do agree with fathom though from a couple pages back. I'd much rather get a package for Tim Hudson and sign him to a 3-4 year deal. Younger, playoff experience and probably not as much to give up for him. i'm sure we could find a package that Billy Beane likes. RJ would be a nice 2nd choice, though.

He saw how his staff folded in the playoffs...i'm guessing he would get RJ first. I know he doesn't want to play games, but he also doesn't want to lose. Beltran, while nice, could be another ARod. RJ is a top of theh line starter. Imagine if you will RJ Mussina Pavano Wright El Duque/Brown Not bad, I must say.

WOW. ESPN Rumor Central said that Renteria had chosen St. Louis because of familiarity. Even with less money. Whoops.

I guess what I was trying to say is taht there IS a reason for this article now. And it's a simple one...it's newsworthy. No other real reason. Ulterior motives or not. I guess i should have just done this before...it's much shorter.

Hermanson should be the Sean Lowe of the '05 Sox. Spot starter-long reliever.

I think your question is answered by this thread. Carlos has a lot of fans on the south side. If Cowley wrote it during the last two very offensively productive years, most people wouldn't believe it or pass it off as the Sox using a reporter. But what would that have accomplished? His value would've REALLY dropped. Cowley wrote this story because it is newsworthy. Sox fans are questioning the trade and Cowley is giving A reason, not THE reason. The last few days on this board there has been speculation that KW got raked over the coals in the trade...then not-so-much if Ginter is coming...then if Ginter's not coming they better use it for a SP, and so on. Cowley is giving us insider information (that we all love) into the inner workings of a trade. That's it's not all about talent for talent. Or about saving money. Or even about addition by subtraction. Joe Cowley is one reporter, giving us one opinion on why a trade was made. There was a part of the article talking about the difference between Carlos and Frank...Frank plays better when he is called out in public and KW thought Carlos wouldn't respond the same way. Maybe KW or Ozzie or the PR department asked for those conversations that Carlos had with management be off the record. For the team's sake. I see what everyone is saying, that Carlos is an easy target now that he's gone. But I don't think this is leaving on bad terms. There was no messy contract negotiations. There was no trade demanding. There was no leaving a game or asking out of a game. It's a trade between two teams that get what they need. Bottom line, Joe Cowley is a reporter. He is writing a timely, newsworthy story. You don't have to believe it, or like it. But, there was definitely a place for it.

Odalis Perez or trade. that is the best we can do.

Trust me...I've gotten into it with him...and I just realized it wasn't worth it.

Rowand...just ignore him...he likes stirring the pot.